Europa League draw: Liverpool face Villarreal in semi-finals with champions Sevilla facing Shakhtar Donetsk
Liverpool will travel to Spain for the first leg while Shakhtar Donetsk take on Sevilla
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Your support makes all the difference.Liverpool will face Spanish side Villarreal in the semi-finals of the Europa League after avoiding reigning champions Sevilla and Ukrainian heavyweight Shakhtar Donetsk.
Liverpool needed an injury-time winner to see off Borussia Dortmund on Thursday in what turned into one of the most incredible nights ever seen at Anfield. With Liverpool taking an away goal advantage into the match, they were immediately on the back foot as Dortmund took a 2-0 lead in a matter of minutes.
However, Liverpool battled back, and despite going 3-1 down on the night, goals from Mamadou Sakho and Dejan Lovren secured a brilliant comeback victory and ensured that the Reds’ hopes of Europa League success – and subsequent Champions League qualification – alive.
In Villarreal, they face a side currently sitting in fourth in La LIga, behind Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid, and they will pose a difficult challenge to the Reds who will have to travel to the Estadio El Madrigal for the first leg on the 28 April before hosting the second leg at Anfield on 5 May.
Should Liverpool progress to the final, they will have home advantage at FC Basle’s St Jakob Park stadium, and will face the winner of the second semi-final between Shakhtar Donetsk and Sevilla.
Liverpool and Villarreal have never met in European competition before, and the Spaniards reached the last four with an impressive 6-3 aggregate victory over Sparta Prague in the quarter-finals.
Sevilla though will prove to be a difficult side to beat for Shakhtar and, if they succeed, Liverpool given the Spanish club are bidding to win the Europa League for a third successive year, a feat that would see them become the first team to do so.
The reigning champions overcame domestic rivals Athletic Bilbao on penalties in the quarter-finals after they were unable to be separated over 210 minutes, but it was a far more straightforward affair for Shakhtar as they despatched Portuguese side Braga 6-1 on aggregate.
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